Article Tag Archives: Garden

Jack Bowen’s wife, Melba, was actively involved in the design and planning of the Jack C. Bowen Memorial Garden. She is shown in the forefront of this photo which was taken during the installation of the garden.

Long-time Truman professor and alumnus Jack Bowen was honored posthumously with a dedication ceremony for the Jack C. Bowen Memorial Garden on campus June 2, 2012. For 42 years, Bowen worked in public education, holding positions in teaching, coaching, administration and intramurals. He passed away in March 2011 after a long battle with cancer.

A native of La Plata, Mo., Bowen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Truman in 1958 and 1961, respectively. He started his teaching and coaching career in 1958 in the public schools in Pulaski, Iowa. In 1960, he took a job with the Davis County public schools in Bloomfield, Iowa, holding positions in teaching, coaching and administration. He accepted a position at the University in 1966 in the Division of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, which is now Health and Exercise Sciences.

Assignments over Bowen’s 34 years at Truman included teaching undergraduate courses, serving as director of intramural recreation sports and as the HLTH 194 activities coordinator, overseeing field experiences for HES students and supervising HES MAE students.

The Bowen Garden was made possible through a generous private donation by the K.C. Summers Corporation and was installed by staff, faculty and students under the direction of Trumascape. Jack’s wife, Melba (Cokerham) Bowen (’61), and members of the Bowen family were actively involved in the design and planning of garden, which is maintained by members of Phi Epsilon Kappa, a professional service organization in the Health and Exercise Sciences.

The Jack C. Bowen Memorial Garden is located near the east entrance of the Pershing Building.

Web extras:

Larry Boleach (’62 ’65), an associate professor emeritus of health and exercise sciences who worked with Jack Bowen for 40 years, spoke at the Jack C. Bowen Memorial Garden dedication ceremony. A transcript of Boleach’s remarks is available at trumantoday.truman.edu/pdf/BowenTribute.pdf.

View photos of the dedication ceremony for the Jack C. Bowen Memorial Garden at http://bit.ly/Yu6WBn.